The present disclosure relates generally to building management systems. The present disclosure relates more particularly to systems and methods for presenting data, and changes to control strategies, associated with a building management systems (BMS).
A building management system (BMS) is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BMS can include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a security system, a lighting system, a fire alerting system, another system that is capable of managing building functions or devices, or any combination thereof. BMS devices may be installed in any environment (e.g., an indoor area or an outdoor area) and the environment may include any number of buildings, spaces, zones, rooms, or areas. A BMS may include a variety of devices (e.g., HVAC devices, controllers, chillers, fans, sensors, etc.) configured to facilitate monitoring and controlling the building space. Throughout this disclosure, such devices are referred to as BMS devices or building equipment.
Currently, many building management systems provide control of an entire facility, building, or other environment. The building management system may control HVAC systems, water system, lights, air quality, security, and/or any other aspect of the facility within the purview of the building management system. These systems may require skilled persons to adjust, control, and otherwise operate the building management system, due to the complexity. In large facilities or buildings, this management can be labor intensive. Moreover, in buildings where dynamic management of the building management system is required (i.e. buildings with multiple independent HVAC requirements), advanced control strategies may be required along with ongoing preventative maintenance of individual systems within the building management system to adjust for the dynamic use of the building or facility.
Once a BMS system is commissioned and operational at a user site, the generally large size of BMS systems makes verification and assessment of the system's performance difficult. Obtaining performance information regarding the BMS system can be critical in determining if the BMS system is functioning as per its specified design. This information may provide useful insights into the BMS system, such as opportunities for function or performance enhancements. Furthermore, as systems change over time, it is important to monitor and understand how the changes to the BMS system over time have affected the BMS system. For example, as additional devices and data points are added to a BMS system, the overall system performance should be monitored to determine the impact of the changes to the BMS system. Thus, it would be desirous to have a tool available that could easily and efficiently analyze a BMS system, in part or in whole, to evaluate a number of performance metrics, and provide suggestions relating to the optimization of the BMS system.
Furthermore, BMS systems are often modified with new features or devices over time. However, due to the large number of data points, it may be difficult to monitor the changes to the BMS system. Additionally, the performance changes in the BMS due to the modification and or addition of devices and features is also difficult to quickly and easily determine. Providing a comparison of a current performance and inventory of a BMS against the performance and inventory of a BMS from a past point in time may allow a user to see changes in the BMS system over periods of time. This can provide a powerful tracking tool that can be used by a user to evaluate a BMS over time.
Additionally, many BMS system do not fully utilize all of the available features. In some instances, a user may avoid utilizing some features due to perceived complexity or cost. In other examples, new features may be developed for use with a BMS after the initial commissioning is complete. These features may provide powerful tools to a user of the BMS. For example, the features may provide energy and/or cost savings, increase efficiencies, decrease waste and emissions, or generally provide other benefits to the BMS. Accordingly, it would be desirous to have a tool that could provide verification of a BMS system, perform comparisons of devices, features and performance over time, and provide an assessment of the utilization of certain features available within the BMS.